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A Metro Gold Line train pulls in to the Lake Station as traffic on the 210 Feeway passes by in Pasadena on Monday, July 23, 2018. Metro is planning to design new barriers to stop cars from crashing onto the tracks. (Photo by Nick Agro, Contributing Photographer)

In eight spectacular crashes during the last five years, cars and trucks have spun, tumbled and soared over concrete freeway barriers — one crashed straight through — landing on the Gold Line train tracks running down the center of the 210 Freeway, disrupting passenger service and snarling traffic.

So far, the flying tons of metal have not struck a train, sometimes situated just yards away — a miracle, many say.

Train and roadway managers agree it’s time to fix it before a more deadly accident occurs, and people stop riding the popular light-rail line that gets cars off the freeway and reduces pollutants.

“Luckily none have hit a train,” said Androush Danielians, executive officer for project engineering at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subways, light-rail and buses in Los Angeles County. That includes the popular U-shaped Gold Line that carries hundreds of thousands of passengers each week from East Los Angeles to downtown Los Angeles’ Union Station and east to Azusa.

Metro is planning to install 12 miles of 56-inch-high concrete barriers in an attempt to keep wayward trucks and cars out of the train’s right-of-way. The current barriers are 32 inches high and are old-generation K-rails, Danielians said.

The new ones will be rounder and fortified with more rebar steel to deflect out-of-control trucks, big rigs or cars, he said.

“That is why we are doing this project. To prevent any more intrusions,” Danielians said.

Unique freeway hazard

The number of accidents and the risks to passengers are just too high, Metro concluded when it approved the $11.08 million design of the new 210 Freeway barriers last week at its meeting of the Construction Committee.

In fact, the 210-Gold Line crashes represent a unique hazard, even for trains running down the middle of busy freeways.

The Green Line light rail, which runs for 20 miles down the median of the 105 Freeway from Norwalk to Redondo Beach, has not had a single accident blocking its tracks since it opened in 1995, Danielians said.

In contrast, from 2013 to 2018, vehicle intrusions onto the freeway Gold Line tracks have occurred at least once every 10 months, he said.

Why the different safety record? Danielians said it could be because the 105, or Century Freeway, was built with more modern barriers and a straighter trajectory.

For example, he said barriers on the 105 are taller and shaped to repel cars. The standards on the 210 when the Gold Line arrived in 2003, and even when the extension to Azusa was built, were not as advanced, he said.

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, which built the lines from Los Angeles to east Pasadena, and from there to Azusa, said it adhered to Caltrans and Metro standards.

In one instance, the Authority asked for and was allowed to put in stronger barriers on a small section east of the Sierra Madre Villa Station toward Arcadia, said spokesperson Lisa Levy Buch, during an interview on Tuesday.

Risks versus rewards

Passengers waiting at the platform of the Sierra Madre Villa Gold Line Station Tuesday said they were well aware of the risks of a car or truck hitting the tracks or a train.

Holly Youngstrom sat on a station bench waiting for the 8:43 a.m. Pasadena-Los Angeles train, watching as the westbound cars and trucks on the 210 Freeway towered over the barriers.

“Look at those big trucks. They are so scary,” she said, pointing to the traffic. “I do worry about accidents with cars and trucks, though I don’t believe any of them actually hit a train.”

Though leary, passengers still rode the train to work and back out of convenience, to avoid wear and tear on their car or to help save the environment, they said.

Metro estimated a third extension, from Azusa/Glendora to Montclair, could reduce 146,700 car miles a day starting in 2027 when it opens, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the project.

A car overturned on the Foothill (210) Freeway Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018 in the Pasadena area near Lake Avenue off-ramp, forcing a halt to service on the Metro Gold Line. No trains were struck. Metro Gold Line trains were not operating at that time between the Lake and Memorial Park stations, and the agency brought in buses to shuttle passengers between those stops. Passengers experiences delays in the area. (Photo by Walt Mancini/Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

In each instance, Metro took passengers off the train and loaded them into buses, taking them to their final destination or to the working section of the Gold Line further west.

The delays can last hours for passengers who expect to get to work on time.

“I was on one of those trains when it broke down. It was a car that landed on the tracks,” said Qarnard Dirxon of Temple City. He glanced down at the old barriers as he walked across the pedestrian bridge Tuesday.

“Yeah, I think they should be a little bit higher.”

Caltrans is concerned that any project may result in closure of the carpool lane in each direction for the six-mile stretch.

This could further clog traffic on what is one of the busiest freeways in Southern California, which jams up every morning and afternoon, sometimes in both directions simultaneously between the 605 and 134 freeways.

Metro was ordered to do a traffic simulation study to figure out ways to relieve traffic during lane shut downs, Danielians said.

For now, Metro and Caltrans agreed to place a new speed limit sign saying “Trucks: Speed Limit 55” and another sign that says “Trucks Right 2 Lanes Only” as a way to keep trucks away from the median and lower speeds.

Steve Scauzillo covers environment, public health and transportation for the Southern California News Group. He has won two journalist of the year awards from the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club and is a recipient of the Aldo Leopold Award for Distinguished Editorial Writing on environmental issues. Steve studied biology/chemistry when attending East Meadow High School and Nassau College in New York (he actually loved botany!) and then majored in social ecology at UCI until switching to journalism. He also earned a master's degree in media from Cal State Fullerton. He has been an adjunct professor since 2005. Steve likes to take the train, subway and bicycle – sometimes all three – to assignments and the newsroom. He has two grown sons, Andy and Matthew. Steve recently watched all of “Star Trek” the remastered original season one on Amazon, so he has an inner nerd.

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